Published: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 28, 2013 at 11:52 p.m.

Three Japanese brands — Lexus, Toyota and Acura — took the top spots in this year's survey, and seven of the top 10 brands are Japanese.

But three non-Japanese brands — Audi, Volvo and GMC — cracked the top 10. And the magazine announced Monday it's not recommending that consumers buy 2014 models of the Honda Accord V6 and Nissan Altima sedans, two of Japan's top sellers, because of poor reliability scores. Two other Japanese mainstays, the Toyota Camry and Toyota RAV4, won't be recommended because they flunked a frontal crash test from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

That's a blow that could impact sales. Consumer Reports' recommendations are frequently cited among the top reasons people buy particular cars and trucks.

Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of 2014 model year cars and trucks based on a survey of subscribers who own vehicles from current or prior model years. This year, the survey questioned the owners of 1.1 million vehicles.

Problems with infotainment systems, from frozen touch screens to poorly performing voice-operated navigation systems, were frequent complaints. Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports' automotive testing director, said electronic problems may even be underreported, since some drivers find the systems so confusing they don't use them. German cars tended to have the best infotainment systems.

The 2014 Subaru Forester got the top score for predicted reliability, but the magazine noted that the 2014 Forester had only been on sale for a few weeks in the spring when owners were surveyed, so there wasn't much time for errors to crop up. The Subaru Legacy was the top-performing midsize car.

Electric cars and hybrids generally performed well, but the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid got the worst reliability scores. Ford and its luxury Lincoln brand were near the bottom of the rankings because of customer complaints about their glitch-prone touchscreen dashboard systems and lower-than-expected fuel ecConsumer Reports released its annual vehicle reliability survey Monday. The magazine predicts the reliability of 2014 model-year cars and trucks based on a survey of readers who own 1.1 million vehicles from the 2011 through 2013 model years.

Here are the brand rankings, the number of spots the brand moved up or down from the previous year and the best-performing and worst-performing model in each brand. Porsche was not on last year's list because the magazine didn't have enough data from readers.

Brand Spots up or down from 2013 Best model Worst model

1. Lexus +2 ES 300h hybrid GS

2. Toyota (same) Prius hybrid Prius plug-in hybrid

3. Acura +4 TL ILX

4. Audi +4 A6 (four-cylinder engine) Q5 (four-cylinder engine)

5. Mazda -1 Mazda5 Mazda2

6. Infiniti +3 G sedan (all-wheel-drive) JX

7. Volvo +13 XC70 S60

8. Honda -2 CR-Z Accord Coupe (V6 engine)

9. GMC +3 Yukon Acadia

10. Subaru -5 Forester (non-turbo) BRZ

11. Scion -10 xB FR-S

12. Buick +9 Verano LaCrosse (V6 engine)

13.Mercedes-Benz +1 E-Class Convertible M-Class (diesel engine)

14. Porsche N/A Boxster 911

15. BMW +1 X1 (four-cylinder engine) 335i sedan

16. Kia -6 Optima hybrid Optima (turbo)

17. Chevrolet -2 Tahoe Cruze (1.8-liter engine)

18. Chrysler +5 300 (V8 engine) Town and Country

19. Ram +6 1500 (V8, four-wheel-drive) 2500 and 3500 (diesel)

20. Volkswagen -2 Golf Beetle

21. Hyundai -4 Accent Genesis coupe

22. Nissan -9 Leaf Pathfinder

23. Jeep -4 Patriot Grand Cherokee (V6 engine)

24. Dodge (same) Dart (2.0-liter engine) Grand Caravan

25. Cadillac -14 ATS (2.0-liter engine) XTS

26. Ford +1 F-150 (V6 engine) C-Max Energi

27. Lincoln -1 MKS MKT (EcoBoost engine)

28. Mini -6 Cooper Cooper Countryman

Source: Consumer Reportsonomy numbers.

The key to reliability is a conservative approach to vehicle redesigns. The brands that do best, like Toyota and Honda, often use time-tested engines, transmissions and other parts from prior models in their newer cars, Fisher said. Automakers with new engines or other untested features in their new cars — like Ford or Cadillac — tend to do worse.

"When you redesign cars from the ground up, you're going to expect those issues," Fisher told The Associated Press.

Brands with many older models, like GMC and Volvo, also tend to do better.

<p>DETROIT (AP) — Japan's lock on Consumer Reports' vehicle reliability rankings is starting to ease.</p><p>Three Japanese brands — Lexus, Toyota and Acura — took the top spots in this year's survey, and seven of the top 10 brands are Japanese.</p><p>But three non-Japanese brands — Audi, Volvo and GMC — cracked the top 10. And the magazine announced Monday it's not recommending that consumers buy 2014 models of the Honda Accord V6 and Nissan Altima sedans, two of Japan's top sellers, because of poor reliability scores. Two other Japanese mainstays, the Toyota Camry and Toyota RAV4, won't be recommended because they flunked a frontal crash test from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.</p><p>That's a blow that could impact sales. Consumer Reports' recommendations are frequently cited among the top reasons people buy particular cars and trucks.</p><p>Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of 2014 model year cars and trucks based on a survey of subscribers who own vehicles from current or prior model years. This year, the survey questioned the owners of 1.1 million vehicles.</p><p>Problems with infotainment systems, from frozen touch screens to poorly performing voice-operated navigation systems, were frequent complaints. Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports' automotive testing director, said electronic problems may even be underreported, since some drivers find the systems so confusing they don't use them. German cars tended to have the best infotainment systems.</p><p>The 2014 Subaru Forester got the top score for predicted reliability, but the magazine noted that the 2014 Forester had only been on sale for a few weeks in the spring when owners were surveyed, so there wasn't much time for errors to crop up. The Subaru Legacy was the top-performing midsize car.</p><p>Electric cars and hybrids generally performed well, but the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid got the worst reliability scores. Ford and its luxury Lincoln brand were near the bottom of the rankings because of customer complaints about their glitch-prone touchscreen dashboard systems and lower-than-expected fuel ecConsumer Reports released its annual vehicle reliability survey Monday. The magazine predicts the reliability of 2014 model-year cars and trucks based on a survey of readers who own 1.1 million vehicles from the 2011 through 2013 model years.</p><p>Here are the brand rankings, the number of spots the brand moved up or down from the previous year and the best-performing and worst-performing model in each brand. Porsche was not on last year's list because the magazine didn't have enough data from readers.</p><p>Brand Spots up or down from 2013 Best model Worst model</p><p>1. Lexus +2 ES 300h hybrid GS</p><p>2. Toyota (same) Prius hybrid Prius plug-in hybrid</p><p>3. Acura +4 TL ILX</p><p>4. Audi +4 A6 (four-cylinder engine) Q5 (four-cylinder engine)</p><p>5. Mazda -1 Mazda5 Mazda2</p><p>6. Infiniti +3 G sedan (all-wheel-drive) JX</p><p>7. Volvo +13 XC70 S60</p><p>8. Honda -2 CR-Z Accord Coupe (V6 engine)</p><p>9. GMC +3 Yukon Acadia</p><p>10. Subaru -5 Forester (non-turbo) BRZ</p><p>11. Scion -10 xB FR-S</p><p>12. Buick +9 Verano LaCrosse (V6 engine)</p><p>13.Mercedes-Benz +1 E-Class Convertible M-Class (diesel engine)</p><p>14. Porsche N/A Boxster 911</p><p>15. BMW +1 X1 (four-cylinder engine) 335i sedan</p><p>16. Kia -6 Optima hybrid Optima (turbo)</p><p>17. Chevrolet -2 Tahoe Cruze (1.8-liter engine)</p><p>18. Chrysler +5 300 (V8 engine) Town and Country</p><p>19. Ram +6 1500 (V8, four-wheel-drive) 2500 and 3500 (diesel)</p><p>20. Volkswagen -2 Golf Beetle</p><p>21. Hyundai -4 Accent Genesis coupe</p><p>22. Nissan -9 Leaf Pathfinder</p><p>23. Jeep -4 Patriot Grand Cherokee (V6 engine)</p><p>24. Dodge (same) Dart (2.0-liter engine) Grand Caravan</p><p>25. Cadillac -14 ATS (2.0-liter engine) XTS</p><p>26. Ford +1 F-150 (V6 engine) C-Max Energi</p><p>27. Lincoln -1 MKS MKT (EcoBoost engine)</p><p>28. Mini -6 Cooper Cooper Countryman</p><p>Source: Consumer Reportsonomy numbers.</p><p>The key to reliability is a conservative approach to vehicle redesigns. The brands that do best, like Toyota and Honda, often use time-tested engines, transmissions and other parts from prior models in their newer cars, Fisher said. Automakers with new engines or other untested features in their new cars — like Ford or Cadillac — tend to do worse.</p><p>"When you redesign cars from the ground up, you're going to expect those issues," Fisher told The Associated Press.</p><p>Brands with many older models, like GMC and Volvo, also tend to do better.</p>